Drawing thoughts and observations

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Monthly Archives: July 2016

I’m updating an entry I posted a couple of years ago regarding what Fremont likes to call itself: “The Center of the Universe.” Here are two views of the literal center of the Center, the intersection where Fremont Avenue North, North 35th Street, and Fremont Place North all meet. The first is looking northwest toward Fremont Place North and Fremont Avenue North.

This second drawing is from a cold day in January 2014, looking northeast at the same intersection. On the traffic island, you can see a post with directional markers pointing to places both near and fa

Down the block from us, we first heard the sounds of people scrubbing and cleaning, then noticed the subtle transformation that the installation of festive flags and canvas canopies can make to an outdoor space. And finally, the sign itself went up announcing the opening of Renee and Nicholas Price’s Fire and Earth Kitchen. These two chefs are offering group and private cooking classes as well as preparing meals for families and small groups to “share the secrets of effortless meal preparation, and expertly show how down to earth and delicious vegan meals can be.” For more information, see <fireandearthkitchen.com>.

These three scenes were done this past Sunday when the Seattle Urban Sketchers met in Georgetown for the neighborhood’s annual garden walk. The first is of the historic Queen Anne style residence at 6219 Carlton Avenue South, built in 1893 for Dora Horton-Carle, daughter of Georgetown founder Julius Horton. It’s an up-close-and-personal view rather than the contextual views I usually prefer.

The second scene is of Oxbow park, a few blocks south. The site is dominated by Hat n’ Boots, designed by Seattle artist Lewis Nasmyth for a western-themed gas station in 1953. The neighborhood rescued the sculptures sometime in the 1980s, after the I-5 interstate had slowly siphoned traffic away from the business over two decades.

And finally, since there were 15 minutes left in the session, I decided to do another up-close-and-personal view of this 1941 Mack truck, which was converted into an art truck and parked in a corner of Oxbow Park.

Perusing my sketchbooks, one might discover many small notational drawings that I have used to understand and represent certain aspects of the places visited. When drawing from observation, we can capture not only what the eye perceives but also what the mind conceives. We can use the drawing process to think about, visualize, and explore in imagined and imaginary ways the conceptual basis for the environments we see and experience. These notational drawings may be simple plan or section diagrams or more complex three-dimensional studies but in all cases, they attempt to encapsulate the essence of a place or structure.

Lake Union was given its name by Thomas Mercer, who believed that the lake and canals —“a union of waters”— would someday link Lake Washington to Puget Sound. An array of pleasure craft ply its waters, from paddle boards, kayaks, and rowing shells to day sailers and cabin cruisers. Seaplanes take off from the south end of the lake. Floating house boats line its eastern and western shores. Yet these two views remind us that the body of water just north of downtown Seattle remains a working lake with dry docks and other boat repair facilities, particularly along the north shore.